Gauge rod



June 5, 1928. 1,672,094 7 E. SALSICH GAUGE ROD Filed March 1926 NVENTOR YA'TTORNE Patented June 5, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NEIL E. sALsIcH, 0F B THLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAUGE Ron.

Application fi led March 6, 1926. Serial N0."92,815.

I My invention relates to gauge rods of the gaging over the outside-flange of one railan the movable 'jawengaging over the outside flange of the otherrail of a trackway and the movable jaw being forced inwardlyby a nut carried by the rod, has been used; however, this type of gauge rod construction is faulty for the reason that'heretofore inadequate bearing area of the movable jaw member beneath the bottom of a railwas af-. forded'in order to eflectively resist any tendency of the jaw to bend the rod when gripped with a rail flange. Accordingly, therefore, it is the object of'my invention to provide a gauge rod construction of this type wherein the movable jaw. member shall have a portion for engagement beneath the bottom of agrail for a sufficient distance widthwise in "order to effectively resistany tilting tendency of the member, such tilting tendencyhaving heretofore been mani fested with'movable jaws and resulted in bending and fracturing of rods.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a movable jaw member having an opening for receiving the tensioning rod positioned so that the latter is disposed substantially parallel with the base of the track rails when the jawsare engaged to the lat ter and the clampingaction of said rod 'is applied in close proximity to said b'aseso as to effectively resist the tendency of the rod to bend or flex.

- The novel features will be more fully understood'from the following description and claims taken with'the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view-of a gauge rod showing my improved jaw member applied thereto; I Y 1 Fig.2 is a side elevation-of the movable Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of a modified form of movable jaw member; and,

Fig. 5 is adetail View showing a further modified form of movable jaw member.

Referring now to the drawings mor'ein detail for a better understanding of my in vention, in Figs. 1 and 2, I show a tensioning rod- 10 having a fixed jaw llat one end for engagement over the outside 'flange of one rail of a track. The other end of the rod 10 is. threaded at 12. A movable jaw 13 fits over the threaded. end 12, and nut means 14 engages the threaded portion 12 in order tov force the movable jaw 13' inwardly to engagethe latter over the outside flange of the other rail of a trackway.

The" movable jaw'13 is comprised of a U- shaped sleeve portion 15 adapted to partially surround the rod 10 and having rail bear-' ing surfaces 16 extending laterally from opposite sides thereof adapted to engage the bottom of a rail. The outer end of the jaw 13 is provided with an overhanging member 17 adapted to engage the upper surface of a rail flange and is connected tothe sleeve portion 15 by the wall 18.. The overhang ing member-17 is provided with a clearance space 19, adjacent thewall 18, whereby it is assured that said member firm-1y engages the upper surface of a rail flange. This feature permits the firm engagement with the rail flanges of different thicknesses. An opening 20 is provided in the wall 18 to receive the rod 10. This opening 20 is aligned with the inner cylindrical surfaceof the sleeve portion 15' anditis positioned so'that when the ja-wsengage the track rails the rod 10 is in close proximity to the base'of the rails and substantially parallel to the latter. This provides a feature whereby itis assured that pull on the rod 10 is more or less in longitudinal direction and effectively resists the tendency of the rod to" flex laterally and benld when the jaws are engaged to the track rai s.

The movable jaw member 13 is preferably made of malleable cast iron; and, as illustrated, it is provided with ribs for strengthening-purposes. As-shown'in Figs. 1 and 2 the overhanging portion 17 consistsof a plurality of fingers 21 in order to facilitate a more uniform gripping relation with respect to an outside rail flangeand the fingers are strengthenedby connecting webs 21.

The movable jaw 13 extends inwardly beneath the'bottom of a rail a sufficient dis tance, preferably not less than one-half the width of a rail bottom, to effectively resist any tendency of the movable member setting In Figs. 3 and 4, I show a modified rail jaw member of a design which may be readily forged, the jaw having a hook portion 22 and leg portions 23, the hook portion bend or flex the rod.

22 and the leg portions 23 being integral with the body portion 2a and the latter having an opening 25 through which the threaded end 12 of a gauge rod passes. The portions 23 are bent substantially at right angles to the body portion 2a and are adapted to extend beneath and preferably beyond the medial line of the rail to engage the bottom of a rail in order to effectively resist any tendency to tilting of the hook member or jaw which, in turn, would tend to The hook portion 22 is bent up at 26 to provide a clearance space 18 for the same purpose as the space 19 already described.

It will be noted in the designs shown in Figs, 2 and 3that the opening 25 is located with reference to the upper surface of the leg portions 23 so that the rod '10 is in close proximity to the base of the railvand substantially parallel thereto when the jaws engage the rail flanges.

v In Fig. 5, I show a drop forged type of jaw member similar'to that shown in Figs. 3 and 4 but in which the body portion 24 is provided with a sleeve or thimble 27 which is pressed in the opening 25, and fits about the threaded end 12 of a gauge rod.

The portion of the sleeve 27 which extends laterally from the face of the body portion is preferably cut away, as at 28, to enable the opening to be so located that the rod is in close proximity to the rail base.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that Ihave devised a gauge rod having a movable jaw provided with a bearing portion to engage beneatha track rail and which bearing portion is of suflicient ex tent to resist any tilting action of the jaw when engaged with a rail flange, whereby, bending or flexing of gauge rods is avoided and breakage of the latter due thereto is also avoided,

Furthermore, my device is so constructed that the tension rod is disposed in close proximity to the rail base and substantially parallel thereto, so that the pull on the rod is more or less in a true longitudinal direc tion and effectively resists the tendency to flex or bend when the jaws engage the track rail flanges.

While I have shown my invention in a plurality "of forms it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a gauge rod construction for engagement with the outside flanges of the rails of a track, the combination of a rod having a jaw fixed to one end thereof and having its other end threaded, a jaw movable longitw dinally of the rod and having a bearing portion adapted to engage a rail bottom for substantially the width of the latter and having an overhanging member provided with a bearing surface adapted to engage of the rails of a track. v

2. In a gauge rod device, the combinationof a rod member having afixed jaw at one end and having its'other end threaded, a movable jaw mounted on said rod and in opposed relation with respect to the fixed jaw, said movable jaw having a rail engaging' portion adapted to extend beneath and engage a rail bottom fora distance not less than one-half the width of a rail base and having a U-shaped sleeve portion adapted to, partially surround said, rod and also having an outer overhanging portion adapted to engage over an outside flange of a trackway rail, said overhanging portion provided with a bearing surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange and providing a clearance space between said bearing surface and vthe portion thereof joined to the bod-y of the j aw, whereby said bearing surface may be caused to engage top surfaces of rail flanges of varying thicknesses, and nut means engaging the threaded end of the rod to cause the movable jaw to move inwardly to engage the flange of a track rail.

3, In a gauge rod device, the combination of a rod member having afixed'jaw at one end and having its other end threaded, a movable jaw mounted on said rod and in opposed relation with respect to the fixed jaw, said movable jaw having a rail engaging portion adapted to extend beneath and engage a rail bottom for a distance not less than one-half the width of a rail base and having a U-shaped sleeve portion adapted to partiallysurround said rod and also having an outer overhanging portion adapted to engage overan outside flange of a trackway rail, said overhanging 1 portion provided with a bearing surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange and providing a clearance space between said bearing surface and the portion thereof joined to the body of the jaw, whereby said bearing surface may be caused to engage top surfaces of rail flanges of varying thicknesses,

said movable jaw being provided with an opening receptive of said rod, said opening being positioned with respect to said rail engaging portion so thatwhen said jaws engage the flanges of the track rails the rod is disposed substantially parallel to the base surfaces of said rails and in close proximity thereto, and nut means engaging the threaded end of the rod to cause the movable jaw to move inwardly to engage the flange of a track rail.

4. In a gauge rod device, the combination of a rod member having a fixed jaw at one end and having its other end threaded, a movable jaw mounted on said rod and in opposite relation with respect to the fixed jaw, said movable jaw being of substantially uniform thickness throughout and having a vertically disposed body portion, a pair of spaced leg portions extending laterally from said body portion adapted to extend beneath and engage. a rail bottom for a distance not less than one half the width of a rail base, an overhanging portion extending upwardly and inwardly from said body portion adapted to engage over an outside flange of a trackway rail, said overhanging portion provided with a bearing surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange and being depressed to provide a clearance space between said bearing surface and the bodyportion, whereby said bearing surface may be caused to engage top surfaces of rail flanges of varying thicknesses, and nut means engaging the threaded end of the rod to cause the movable jaw to move inwardly to engage the flange of a track rail;

5. In a gauge rod device, the combination of a 'rod member having a fixed jaw at one end and having its other end threaded, a movable jaw mounted on said rod and in opposite relation with respect to the fixed jaw, said movable jaw being of substantially uniform thickness throughout and having a vertically disposed body portion, a pair of spaced leg portions extending laterally from said body portion adapted to extend beneath and engage a rail bottom, an overhanging portion extending upwardly and inwardly from said body portion adapted to engage over an outside flange of a trackway rail, said overhanging portion provided with a bearing surface adapted to en gage the top surface of a rail flange and being depressed to provide a clearance space between said bearing surface and the body portion, whereby said bearingsurface may be caused to engage top surfaces of rail flanges of varying thicknesses, and nut means engaging the threaded end of the rod to cause the movable jaw to move inwardly to engage the flange of a track rail.

6'. In a gauge rod device, the combination of a rod member having a fixed jaw at one end and having its other end threaded, a movable jaw mounted on said rod and in opposite relation with respect to the fixed jaw, said movable jaw being of substantially uniform thickness throughout and having a vertically disposed body portion, a pairof spaced leg portions extending laterally from said body portion adapted to extend beneath and engage a rail bottom, an overhanging portion extending upwardly and inwardly from said body portion adapted to engage over an outside flange of a trackway rail, said overhanging portion provided with a bearing surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange, and nut means engaging the threaded end of the rod to cause the movable jaw to move inwardly to engage the flange of a track rail.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signaturethis 5th day of March, 1926.

c NEIL E. SALSICH. 

